“Gone? She left?” Isobeau asked.
“She was not there,” Auri said, eyes wide in remembering that night’s events, “but she had not left the room. Brothers came pounding on the door trying to get in when I called out to them. It was only when I broke whatever spell was on me and was able to get off the bed that they were able to push their way in. The room was filled with light as Uriel, Ezekiel, Gabriel lit every corner of the room with their lamps. But Maddalena was nowhere.”
“She probably snuck out past them as they rushed in,” Isobeau said in way of explanation for the event.
“Such a thing was impossible. Truly impossible. In the hours and days that followed, I was in agony over her disappearance,” Auri explained, “I went over and over the events of that night - in my head, in talking with the brothers, and with Michael - our head Brother. There was no lock on the door, yet the Brothers said it was impossible to open. It opened easily just as I felt the spell - or what I believe to be a spell on me - was broken. She could not have gone past the Brothers as they rushed into the room. The door was only wide enough for a single person to enter or leave. Their lamps lit the room completely. In the corner was her gown and she had no other clothing. The wine bottle laid empty on the floor and the bread and cheese still on the small table. There was no hiding place in that room. We even moved the pallet on which she slept but there was no space in which, or under which, she could have hidden. She was simply not there.”
“Auriel, I know Michael would not have let this incident go by without consulting the Witan,” Nana said, “tell us what happened after Maddalena’s disappearance.”
Auri looked at the floor, “Nana, we do not have a Witan as you do, but there was an official Enquiry. There are several Orders besides the Order of Joseph, and Michael sent for Brothers from the other Orders to sit in Enquiry. They, along with Michael, sat in council taking in all the information about what had happened - from the fire in the woods to my calling out in Maddalena’s room. They questioned every brother, they questioned me many times. I carried great guilt about the night I went to her room, but I also knew that I must stand in my nakedness, hiding nothing from the Enquirents, from my brothers, telling only the truth.”
“What about the miniature?” I asked, “was it still there?”
“None could find it.”
“Did the Enquirents question you about the wine? The bread and cheese?” Nana asked. I felt as if she were on the Enquiry, reconstructing the events, trying to find gaps or unveil secrets.
“I did not hold back on telling the Enquiry any of it,” Auri said, “I laid bare my soul to all my brothers. Not only was I heartbroken that Maddalena was gone, but I needed to defend my actions of bringing the bread and cheese, as well as the wine to her room.”
“Did they believe you?” Isobeau asked, “because I would have thought you were running away with her. If I saw a cloth laid open with bread and cheese…”
“I know, Isobeau,” Aurie agreed, “I know that those very thoughts were in the minds of every brother. The Enquirents asked me over many days to repeat my story. They asked me what I thought I was doing, going so far as to accuse me of planning something so that Maddalena could escape. But Maddalena was never our prisoner. We do not hold people captive like animals. Any soul coming to us is always able to leave whenever they desire. Our vows hold us to only be of service - to offer food, clothing and whatever else they may need. When they are ready, we vow to make their journey easier.”
“But the Enquirents were not asking if you were helping Maddalena escape,” Nana said, “they were asking if you were leaving.” I was baffled - it wasn’t about Maddalena?
“Yes. They care for every soul who is with us,” Aurie explained, “and all have the freedom to fulfill their destinies, to choose what they share with us about their lives, to choose when they move on. But not so with Brothers. Brothers vow to remain with an Order until their last breath.”
“So why were they concerned with you?” Isobeau asked.
“Sometimes Brothers break their vows. They disappear. They may leave by themselves, sometimes with someone who has stayed with us.”
“And the Enquirents believed that you were about to take that step,” Nana said.
“I believe that is what they believed,” Aurie said, “though I was faithful.”
“Why are the Enquirents concerned about any Brother leaving the Order?” I asked, still not seeing why this was so important.
“Our faith is a deep well of secrets,” Aurie admitted, “I cannot tell you more than that.”
“You mean you can’t tell us or you won’t tell us?”
Aurie looked at the floor, saying nothing more.
“Betty, we have relied on the Orders - especially the Order of Joseph - to keep chaos from this world,” Nana explained.
“You remember how we said the Phallas were not among us?” Isobeau asked me, “well, the chaos of before had to do with the Phallas and the Women. The Orders allow our two worlds to exist each to their own.”
Gaia, how could I have missed this? Men, women, and children…